Orvieto Transport Question
 

The time is nearing when Mrs. Charles and I depart for Italy. We will be joining an adventure travel agency for most of our trip, so our only worries for the trip are a) how to get from the train station to our hotel in Orvieto and b) the best way to get to our hotel in Rome from the train station.

I just want to tackle the Orvieto question now.

Thanks to the quite detailed information on this board, Mrs. Charles and I see no difficulty in walking off our flight to Rome and right onto a train to the city of Rome and then transferring to a train to Orvieto.

It's getting to the hotel from our train, I'm afraid, that is a little unclear. We are staying on the far side of town in the Hotel Palazzo Piccolomini. We are not renting a car. I assume we will ascend the funicular. Various websites have mentioned something about a bus system, but it seems a tad unclear. We are not carrying a lot (one roll-on and one backpack per person), but we would need some sort of transport that allows for a bit of luggage. I have no personal objection to hopping on a bus; I do hope I'm not one of the persons who impedes the travel of others by blockading the aisle with my belongings.

Any specifics you experts can offer?

Have you tried e-mailing or faxing the hotel? They would know better than anyone else.

Dear Bob: Yes, I emailed the hotel early this morning and am awaiting a reply.

In my prior conversations with the hotel, the English mastery of my hosts has been at a minimal level. That said, their international communication is far better than my Italian capabilities. As you may have guessed,Mrs. Charles and I are abashed that we cannot live up to minimal linguistic standards.

We thank you for your concern and your reply.

Charles

Charles, there is a bus system that will pick you up on the other side of the train station and take you into town. I believe that would be better for you than the funicular.

I am not sure how close it will take you to your hotel but we did see cabs at the train station too.

We found the hard way that few people in town speak English well. Very frustrating at times but we were able to manage.

Have a great time!

Ah, Detroit to the rescue! You hit upon our precise area of confusion: if one takes the Funicular, how does the bus interact.

Detroit (if I may refer to you as that), did you take this bus? Would our luggage be a problem in any way for others on the transport?

Detroit is fine! LOL. I believe you can catch the bus at the train station, which is at the bottom of the hill before you would get on the funicular or also at the top of the hill after you exit the funicular.

We were only there for the day, so we took the funicular and so I do not have personal knowledge of the bus. Sorry.

The bus at the top of the funicular is small, follows 2 routes, and can get through some pretty narrow streets. When I rode it last week, a weekday morning at about 10:30AM, there were only 3 passengers. It is a local bus--more standing room than seats. I don't think any bus makes a particularly comprehensive route through town--you will proably have walk a bit to your hotel unless it is in one of the major piazzas.

Hello Mr Charles,

I will be staying at the Piccolomini next September and I plan on taking a taxi from the train station to the hotel. Orvieto is a small town and a taxi probably will not cost much. It will be worth it for me as far as travel time and eliminating the hassle of trying to find the hotel.

I hope this helps!

Hi Charles,

We stayed at Palazzo Piccolomini a few years ago. We parked in the parking structure, called the hotel, and they came and picked us up with our small amount of luggage. I'm sure they could pick you up at the station, or at the top of the funiculare.

We saw the town mini bus on one of the main streets (narrow), but we didn't need to use it. Walking from the funicular to the hotel with luggage would be a bit of a hike and slightly uphill.

Be sure to do the underground tour!

Buon viaggo!

Hi C,

From another guide book that begins with an F,
"The "A" bus heads to Piazza del Duomo and the "B" bus to central Piazza della Repubblica via Piazza XXIX Marzo (it then doubles back to the Duomo)".

Your hotel is about 200 m from P della R.

((I))

Thank you, all of you, for the help. Half of making arrangments is being able to visualize the area, and you all have done that for us.

Mrs. C particularly enjoyed the post from Mr I. She thought you might enjoy the email that came in overnight from the hotel:

<i>From the train station you can take a taxi, in front of the station there is a funicular. The funicular go up until Orvieto center. When you exit from the funicular there is a minibus, linea B, and this minibus arrive until our hotel.</i>

With appreciation,

Charles

Hi again Charles,

Important to know, when we were in Orvieto, the train station ticket agents did not speak English. From more recent trip reports, this is still the case. Be sure you can ask for your tickets in Italian, or have the trenitalia schedule printed out so you can show them the train you want!

Buon viaggio!

Excellent point, Dayle! We learned this the hard way last April when it took us 20 minutes to find out that the Orvieto train station no longer has storage lockers. Very frustrating!